American Son (album)

American Son
American Son
Studio album by Levon Helm
Released	1980
Studio	Bradley's Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
Genre	Country rock
Length	35:20
Label	MCA
Producer	Fred Carter, Jr.
Levon Helm chronology

American Son is a studio album by American country rock musician Levon Helm, who is most famous for his work as drummer for the rock group the Band. It was released in October 1980 on MCA Records and was Helm's third studio album. It had generally been considered Levon Helm's best solo work until the release of Dirt Farmer in 2007.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Rolling Stone	favorable^[2]

Background

Helm played the part of Loretta Lynn's father in the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter and was asked to record a version of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" for the film's soundtrack. The session went well, and producer Fred Carter, Jr., decided to cut more tracks. Using a band of veteran Nashville session players, Carter and Helm recorded 20 tracks over two weeks, half of which ended up on American Son.^[3]

Critical reception

Billboard's reviewers noted that the album was more rock-like than country-like and pleasant to listen to. The authors also suggested that due to the success of the film, which starred Levon Helm, sales of the disc would be high.^[4]

Track listing

"Watermelon Time in Georgia" (Harlan Howard) – 3:53
"Dance Me Down Easy" (Larry Henley, Billy Burnette) – 2:51
"Violet Eyes" (Tom Kimmel) – 3:10
"Stay with Me" (Fred Carter) – 3:03
"America's Farm" (Ronnie Rogers) – 3:09
"Hurricane" (Keith Stegall, Stewart Harris, Thom Schuyler) – 4:04
"China Girl" (Joe New, Jeff Silbar) – 3:19
"Nashville Wimmin" (Howard) – 4:13
"Blue House of Broken Hearts" (Bill Martin, Todd Cerney) – 3:29
"Sweet Peach Georgia Wine" (Ronnie Reynolds) – 3:51

Personnel

Levon Helm – drums, vocals, backing vocals, harmonica
Jerry Shook – guitar, mandolin
Buddy Emmons – steel guitar
Kenneth Buttrey – drums
Jerry Carrigan – drums
Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano, electric piano
Bobby Ogdin – organ, electric piano
Billy Sanford – guitar
Henry Strzelecki – bass, backing vocals
Mitch Humphries – organ, backing vocals
Steve Gibson – guitar, electric guitar
Steve Schaffer – bass
Clifford Robertson – organ
Beegie Adair – piano
Todd Cerney – backing vocals
Buzz Cason – backing vocals
Buster Phillips – drums

Technical personnel

Jim Foglesong – executive producer
Fred Carter, Jr. – producer, arranger, guitar, backing vocals
Joe Mills – engineer
Ernie Winfrey – engineer
Bobby Bradley – assistant engineer
George Osaki – art direction
Andy Engel – design
Joo Chung – cover illustration

Chart performance

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Albums	24

References

^ Allmusic review
^ Rolling Stone review^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Levon Helm: American Son". 1995. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
^ "Review: Levon Helm — American Son" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 19. May 10, 1980. p. 77. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 24, 2021 – via American Radio History.

[1] Allmusic review

[2] Rolling Stone review^{[dead link‍]}

[3] "Levon Helm: American Son". 1995. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2009.

[bboardreview-4] "Review: Levon Helm — American Son" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 19. May 10, 1980. p. 77. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 24, 2021 – via American Radio History.

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